SOLGM's 'Think Piece' Report on Austerity

July 2016

The Global Financial Crisis illustrated the importance of building resilience into local government service delivery. Numerous concepts to ensure effective and efficient service delivery have emerged globally, including in England, where central government funding for councils has and continues to reduce. As a consequence, since 2008 concepts, from increased community engagement to co-production of council services have emerged, and re-emerged, in English councils,

In 2015 SOLGM began a project on the effects of fiscal constraint on councils. The objective was to understand ways in which councils can manage these effects and find innovative ways to increase and improve their resilience in service delivery to their communities.

This report, available to download as a PDF file here - focuses on four concepts used by English councils to create more efficient and effective service delivery: service design and identification, co-production, increased community engagement, and shared service arrangements. The application and adoption by New Zealand councils of some of these concepts could well become an important aspect of building resilience into local government service delivery.